Jun 17 2004
O.E.D.
A day in the life of the OED, describing what staff of the Oxford English Dictionary do on a typical day:
I was working on a draft entry for the verb “other” (and the related adjective “othered”). Due to the complex and philosophical nature of these terms (and our mutual interest in the subject matter), Abigail and I decided to split them up — she took on the noun “othering” — so that we could discuss the definitions in detail and share our research.
I’d love to work there. Really.
Two superb books about the OED are The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary and The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, both by Simon Winchester.
